Tanvi returned to share what her job in experience research looks like, how she structured a portfolio that got attention, and the habits that kept her job search moving. It was honest, specific, and very usable for anyone aiming at product teams.

Five takeaways to act on this week

• Apply fast on the company website. Use LinkedIn to find roles, not to hit Easy Apply.
  
• Treat your portfolio like a set of short books. Make each project easy to pick up and hard to put down.
  
• Prepare real stories for behavioral interviews. Memorize points, not scripts.
  
• Curate 4 to 6 projects that fit the role. Show range, but keep a clear through-line.
  
• Network with purpose. Ask people what a great week looks like on their team and why they stay.

What an Experience Researcher at Adobe does

Tanvi’s work covers moderated and unmoderated tests, contextual interviews, focus groups, and diary studies. Her team also runs large surveys, while she focuses more on qualitative depth. A typical study starts with a research brief that spells out business impact and learning goals. She then aligns with partner teams, writes a screener with 10 to 12 questions, recruits participants, runs sessions, synthesizes, and reports in different formats for leadership and project teams. Collaboration is constant. Researchers, designers, product managers, engineers, and strategists move together across products like Acrobat’s AI Assistant, Lightroom mobile, and the B2B GenStudio platform.

Internship to full time

Her summer internship ran 15 weeks and converted to a full-time offer about six weeks after it ended. Expect internal budget checks and team placement conversations to take time. Her interview flow looked like this: HR screen, 30-minute hiring manager call, one-hour portfolio and process review, then a final panel around two and a half hours across portfolio, craft, and behavioral questions. Keep momentum during the gaps. Continue applying while you wait.

The search habits that helped

1. Apply early. Many teams stop reviewing once they hit an internal cap.
   
2. Spend one focused hour daily tracking new postings and patterns.
   
3. Be honest about fit. You are choosing them too.
   
4. Use New York. Go to events and career fairs. Follow up with thoughtful questions.
   
5. Save cover letters for roles you truly want. For most applications, a tight resume and portfolio do the work.

Rethink your portfolio as a series of books

Imagine your portfolio as a shelf. Each project is a book.

• Title and cover: a clear project name and a strong hero image.
  
• Back cover snapshot: the problem, your role, and the outcome in five to seven lines.
  
• Acknowledgments: who did what.
  
• Preface: the why and the constraints.
  
• Chapters: research to insight to concept to prototype to test to iteration.
  
• Transitions: short lines that explain why you moved from one phase to the next.
  
• Outcomes: what changed, with evidence if you have it.
• Postscript: what you learned and what you would do next.

Curation matters. Four to six relevant projects beat a long list every time. Mix domains if the role values range, but keep a consistent skills story.

Resume without the fluff

Study several job descriptions for similar roles. Pull out the shared skills and reflect them in your bullets with proof. If you list stakeholder facilitation or research ops, point to where you did it and the result. Transferable skills count. Leadership, storytelling, and strategy to design handoffs are worth highlighting.

Inside the panel interview

Expect a portfolio walkthrough, a craft deep-dive, and behavioral questions. Common themes include conflict resolution, influencing a skeptical stakeholder, time management, and recovering from mistakes.

Prep by writing short vignettes from your own work: one conflict you navigated, one time you influenced without authority, one setback and how you repaired it, one cross-functional win, and one example of prioritizing under pressure. Know your points and speak naturally. Small stumbles read as human. Scripts read as stiff.

Where AI fits for non-engineers

You do not need to build models to contribute to AI products. The work still centers on workflow design, guardrails, and value for real users. If you care about this space, show learning agility with projects, usability studies, or a thesis topic. You are still practicing experience strategy and research.

“Apply the minute you see a role. Many teams stop reviewing after a set number of applications.”

“Portfolios should read like a bookstore visit. Title, cover, back cover, chapters, and clear transitions.”

“Do not script behavioral answers. Know your stories and talk like a person.”

 

Do this next

• Block 60 minutes a day for search and two tailored applications.
  
• Rebuild one project with the bookstore structure.
  
• Draft five behavioral story notes.
  
• Attend one in-person event and ask about day-to-day work on that team.
  
• Skip Easy Apply. Submit on company sites and track your pipeline.Tanvi’s Blog: https://medium.com/@tanvimehtadesigns/about